Andromeda
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: Laxus has never felt this way before. Ever. In his entire life. And Bicklslow has never eaten a cat. Nope. No way. Ever. Swear. - One-shot.


"Puppies are so great, Laxus," Mirajane insisted as she bounced along beside him. "But then, you know, adult dogs need home too. And oh, senior dogs are so precious and sweet and-"

"I've agreed to gettin' you get a damn pet," he grumbled up at the overcast autumn sky. Foreboding if he ever saw it. "I don't wanna have to hear about it too."

"Getting us a pet, dragon," she corrected with a giggle as she beamed up at him. "This is going to be our baby."

"This is not going to be our baby."

"I mean, it is, but if you have to pretend it's not, I understand."

"You're about to be a single mother."

"Oh, Laxus, it's a big step, I know," she sighed as she took to just wrapping both her arms around his, "becoming a pet parent. It's not for everybody. But luckily, I am quite experienced."

"You've had," he griped, "a pet before?"

"Well, I like to throw leftovers out into the yard for the local strays to snatch up. Or I did. Before you made me move into your apartment. Have you thought of getting a house with a yard?"

"So you can invite the neighborhood fleabags over to feast? No," he replied. Then, frowning, he added, "And I didn't make you move in with me."

"I felt forced."

"Demon-"

"But oh, Laxus, just think of all the cute little puppies that will be waiting for us at the pound," she gushed, moving right along as she sped up her walking. Now truly feeling drug along, Laxus tried to slip his arm out of her grasp, but Mirajane wasn't releasing him for nothing. "Should we get a little golden one? Then he'd be just like you, huh? Or, oh, you know, I've heard that people don't always adopt the ones with darker fur and I can't stand the thought of- But then again, you have to wonder if we need a little dog. Because your apartment is so small, dragon. But I'll be around to walk him constantly and sis and Elf both agreed to help out, so I guess we could get a big dog. But not too big, because I want him to sleep in bed with us and I don't know if I want a female dog or a male one, but-"

"Just," he cut her off (mostly just to get her to shut up), "go and see, Mira. Which one you want. If you're unable to decide-"

"I won't be able to," she assured him. "I'll want to take them all."

"-then you can have a long rant." Laxus even shrugged. "You might not even like any of them."

"Oh, I already love them all."

"You haven't even seen them."

"I don't have to."

And he believed her.

Still, Laxus felt a mix of nerves as they walked into the Magnolia City Animal Shelter, though it might have more to do with his heightened sense of smell. Because oh, the place smelled godawful. He imagined it did even to a normal person. But Mirajane only grinned as the lowly guy who seemed to want to be literally anywhere other than working what Laxus was sure was a rather stressful (and gross) nine to five gave them the lowdown of the place. After having them sign a form, the young guy led them to the back, where the disgusting smell was mixed with loud yaps and barks of the man dogs caged, awaiting their chance to escape their prison.

And Laxus felt for them. He felt horrible for them.

But he felt for his couch and rug and nice, sleek apartment much more.

Still, Mirajane did seem kind of down recently. Her sister and brother had used her departure from the Strauss household as a wake up call that they too needed to move on with their adult lives. For Elfman, this meant taking his training even more seriously, if it was possible. He was gone constantly, it felt like. And Lisanna was coming to realize all the things she'd almost completely missed out on, so she was off trying to live her second life.

Mira loved living with her dragon. He was certain she did. But given that he was gone a lot too, on frequent S-Class jobs, he knew she was a bit lonely too. A pet would be a good cure to this. She'd only gone on and on about getting a puppy, eventually, anyways and, well…

Laxus just liked for his demon to be happy.

Even if it was to his own detriment.

And she'd swore she'd walk it and bathe it and feed it and walk it and make sure Laxus never even had to look at it, if he didn't want.

Except, you know, when it slept in bed with them each night.

Mirajane was in heaven, rushing from floor length cage to floor length cage, gushing over each and every one of those horrible canine beasts, while the employee gave halfhearted responses to her questions. Laxus couldn't imagine the hell that was showing up to that place day in and day out. The man had his deepest sympathy.

It was as Mirajane walked through the maze of chain link and slobbering dogs that Laxus found himself searching for any kind of escape. Not too keen on interacting with any dog, ever, at all, it was partially his flight instinct kicking in that made him take notice of it. There a door marked QUIET ROOM on one wall and, after giving some glances at his girlfriend, Laxus was quick to go take a peek in there and, hopefully, escape the madness.

The other room was much smaller and seemed to be a sick bay of sorts. There were some smaller cages elevated on a table where he saw a few sick looking, smaller dog as well as a birdcage though, where a colorful parrot or something (Laxus had no fucking idea about bird species) was squawking at him. A huge container with a heat lamp over it was filled with sand and foliage housed a weird looking lizard along one wall and, coming closer, Laxus was pretty interested in watching it flick it's tongue.

It startled him, honestly, when it happened. There he was, leaning in, looking at the weird lizard, when over the sound of the bird squawking and the muffled dogs barking in the other room, there came the softest little mewl he'd ever heard.

Turning, he saw another cage on a table all by itself. Inside, there were three or four kittens, way too cramped together, honestly, and Laxus frowned some, a bit of pity tugging at his heart. He would have probably turned away though, honestly, uninterested in the felines, did his eyes not lock with what might just be the perfect cat to ever exist ever in all of existence, ever.

And he wasn't being dramatic.

Well, maybe just a little.

But one of the three kittens was standing there, staring right at him, with its big, bright green eyes that were really striking against it's gray fur and it had this white spot, right in the middle of it's head and when it meowed at him again, Laxus felt something deep in his core and why was he opening up the cage and taking it out?

Because it was the best cat in the entire world.

And it deserved love and attention and, fine, yes, he couldn't give it that, but Mirajane could, because she wanted to be something's mommy and it needed a mother desperately.

"Oh, dragon, here you are."

He couldn't look away from the kitten in his hands as it held it before his face, staring deeply into its eyes, not really caring at all that his girlfriend was at his side, bouncing excitedly about.

"I've narrowed it down to four- Well, five dogs and I just can't decide and I think that we should just take them all, honestly, and figure it all out later, don't you? Dragon? Uh, Laxus, are you- Ooh, a kitty." coming closer, Mirajane took to look at it as well. "Oh, three kitties! Look at them, dragon, they're-"

"Plebeians."

"Uh, what?"

Mirajane had leaned towards the cage, where the others were looking out after the one Laxus had snatched, but he only continued to stare deeply into his eyes.

"Those," he told Mirajane simply, "are filthy disgusting cats."

"O-Okay, well."

"And this," he said simply as he slowly lowered the little kitten so he could begin cradling it in his arms, "is a precious kitten who didn't deserved to be locked in this place. Especially not with them. It deserves to be cared for and taken care of. Look at it. This is the smartest animal I've ever met. I can just tell."

Mirajane thought he was making some sort of elaborate, metaphor for how she was acting and was about ready to call him a sourpuss, but then she noticed it. That glint in his eye he got when he was really going through something. She'd only seen it a few times, but oh, it was there then, and as she reached out to rest a hand on his forearm, she only nodded her head solemnly.

"It's like all the other slayers, with their super cool talking cats. Like Happy," she explained. "Only, you're a discount slayer, so you don't get a super cool talking Exceed. You just get a pound reject with a weird marking on it's head."

Finally breaking eye contact with his new best friend, Laxus only said, "It's fur is perfect. And I'm not discount; I'm the best slayer ever. The best fucking mage ever. And don't you ever-"

"I guess," Mira went right on though with a sigh, "we can get your kitten instead."

"Do you mean it?"

"I mean, you have to clean her litter box and comb her fur and feed her-"

"Of course," he agreed with a nod. "It's mine." And when Mirajane reached out to pat the feline on the head, he only jerked it away from her much to the bemused look of his girlfriend. But Laxus only added, "And you can't touch it. Except for if you brush up against it in your sleep. It'll sleep right next to me. Every night."

"You do realize you're gone, like, eighty percent of the time on jobs, right?"

"Fine." Reluctantly, he did allow Mirajane to scratch behind the kittens ears. "You can touch it. But be very careful. This cat means more to me than anything."

"You met it five minutes ago. At most."

"I met you a decade ago and it took me years to realize how much I cared about you," he pointed out as he took to staring into the little cat's eyes once more. As it stuck it's rough tongue out, it brushed against his nose gently. "I knew with this kitten here immediately. Imagine our connection."

But all Mirajane could think about was all the connections she had with all the dogs she knew she loved, before even coming into the shelter, and it was so hard. So very hard. To leave them behind. Because she could already picture her life with each and every one of them and she couldn't picture a life with a cat, because cats weren't as loving or exciting and no one came over to play with the new cat.

Gross.

But as she watched the way that Laxus let the kitten nuzzle into his arms and the way he was kind of smiling, for once, maybe, well…

Laxus gave up a lot for her.

A lot.

She knew this and reveled in it, but at the same time…

Mirajane was certain she could learn to love a cat.

She'd already learned to love a dragon and man, that had to be one of the hardest things in the world.

"Andromeda is not for you losers to gawk at," Laxus grumbled later in the day as he held his new kitten close as Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow came over to his apartment to do just that. "She's special."

"Andromeda," the rune mage mused in response. "I think I understand."

"Understand what?"

"The dragon and the princess," Freed explained. When Laxus only stared at him blankly, he went on. "It's a motif. In fiction." Still, everyone just stared. "In literature, there's a recurring theme across multiple cultures and histories, in which a high-born woman, such as princess, must be rescued from a monster by a dashing man. The monster is frequently a dragon, which must be killed. Andromeda is a rather well-known example."

"Well," Mira thought as the others all blinked, "Laxus is a slayer, so that makes sense, I guess, but I like to call him my dragon." Then she giggled before adding, "But then that would imply that he was-"

"Going to eat the cat?" Bickslow interrupted as he tossed a hand worriedly behind his head, his wooden babies cackling already. "Who eats cats? Huh? Not me. Nope. I've never, in my entire life eaten a cat. No way."

Laxus only stared at all of them, even his girlfriend, for a long few moments, before saying, "No one is going to touch my kitty. So get out. All of you. Now."

"Dragon," Mira complained while Freed only tried to explain he was merely being helpful and Bickslow continued to insist he, in no way, would ever eat that juicy kitty the boss was cradlin'.

"I haven't even done anything," Evergreen complained. But, then she glanced at the gross feline and shrugged her shoulders.

She had zero desire to be around the cat anyways.

"And tell Mira's lame siblings, if you see them, that they can't either," Laxus went on as he led the three of them to the door. "And anyone else. Andromeda is too important for you."

She felt too important for him, honestly, but when Laxus fell into bed that night, letting the kitten snuggle up on his chest, he allowed himself to smile openly and honestly for the first time that night.

"Are you happy with her? Dragon?" Mirajane giggled in uncertainty as she joined him. "Do you feel complete?"

Smile growing when the kitten meowed at the feeling of Mirajane's fingers scratching at her ears once more, he let out a long sigh and, man, had he been holding that in his entire life?

"Very."


End file.
